Invertible collar construction



March 14, 1961 e. A. MILLER INVERTIBLE COLLAR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 2. 1959 INVERTIBLE COLLAR CONSTRUCTION George A. Miller, Norwalk, Conn., assignor to D ietz & Company, Inc., Norwalk, Conn., a corporation of 1 Connecticut.

Filed June 2, 1959, Ser. No. 817,644

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-98) This invention relates generally to the field of clothing, and more particularly to an improved invertible collar construction which may beworn outwardly of the body of the garment in normal fashion, or in inverted position to be completely concealed from view.

While the invention has application to a wide variety of garments, it has particular value in the field of juvenile clothing, where the rapid growth of a child makes itdesirable to maintain the wardrobe of' the child at a minimum. At the present time, fashions for this age bracket include both Eton, or collarless jackets as well as the more conventional type jacket having a collar attached to the yoke portion of the garment.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved combination garment which may be worn either with the collar portion thereof in exposed position, or which may have the collar portion foldably concealed within the yoke portion of the garment.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a garment structure of the type described in which the garment may present a completely normal appearance in either adjustment of the collar position.

Another Object of the invention lies in the provision of improved invertible collar construction, in which the cost of fabrication may be consistent with accepted levels in the childrens garments fields.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of an improved tailoring technique whereby the collar portion of the garment may be shaped to lie flat in either of the above-described adjustments.

A feature of the invention lies in the provision of a finished neck opening in the garment beneath which the collar portion of the garment is attached, whereby when the collar portion is in concealed position, the neck portion of the garment may present a finished tailored appearance.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will become more clearly apparent during the course of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an embodiment of the invention showing the collar element thereof in exposed position.

Figure 2 is a similar front view of the embodiment showing the collar element thereof in inwardly folded condition.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective showing the body portion of the garment in flattened condition.

Figure 4 is a similar fragmentary perspective view showing the collar element in relatively flattened condition.

2,974,320 Patented Mar. 14, 1961 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 55 in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 66 in Figure 2.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentaryvertical sectional view as seen from the plane 77 in Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a view in elevation showing one of the panels comprising the collar element.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally 9 'interconnectable by button means 15. The edges 13 and 14 extend continuously upward to form a neck opening 16. A continuous lining 17 extends around the rear panels 18 and 19 to the front panels 11 and 12.

The collar element 10 includes first, and second symmetrically shaped collar members 20 and 21, as well as corresponding facings 22 and 23. Each of the collar members 20 and 21 includes a jacket engaging edge 24, a rectilinear interconnecting edge 25, and an outer edge 26. The outer edge 26 is seen in planar condition in Figures 4 and 8, and includes a first outwardly curved portion 28, a second inwardly curved portion 29, a rever forming portion 30 as well as afourth inwardly curved portion 31. In the case of the outer edge 26, the particular outer shape of the collar is optional, and may be modified without departing from the invention.

The jacket engaging edge 24 of each of the collar members 20 and 21 includes a first rectilinear portion 34, and a continuous inwardly curved portion 35 which meets at apex 36 with the outer edge 26.

The jacket engaging edge 24 is interconnected within the neck opening as seen in Figure 3, in the manner disclosed in the sectional views 5, 6 and 7. A finished edge 40 is formed by tucking in raw edge 41 of the collar and be observed that no stifiening haircloth, or similar ma terial is employed in the collar, to permit the same to maintain maximum flexibility.

From a comparison of Figure 3 and 4, it will be observed that the interconnection of the collar element 10 with respect to the jacket 9 is on a bias, that is to say, When either of the elements is in flattened condition, the other cannot be made planar. With regard to Figure 3, it will be observed that flattening of the jacket 10 results in the formation of humped portions 50, whereas the flattening of the collar element 10 causes similar humped portions 51 in the jacket.

The garment is worn as a collared style in Figure l by folding the collar element 10 outwardly, wherein the finished edge 40 which is relatively stiff forms a guide for the folding of the relatively limp collar element thereabout. When the device is worn as in Figure 2, the collar element is folded to lie parallel to the rear panels 19 and 20, the biased interconnection described above serving to permit the element to lie perfectly flat beneath the yoke formed by the upper portions of the rear panels 19 and 20.

It may thus be seen that I have invented novel and highly useful improvements in invertible collar construction for use in conjunction with a childs garment or similar device.

By resort to a biased interconnection of the collar, with respect to the main body portion of the garment, the collar being interconnected beneath a finished edge, it is possible to havea garment of highly acceptable appearance irrespective of the position of the collar when the device is worn. The construction may be found by those possessing only ordinary skill in the art, and the use of the construction adds no increased cost of production of the garment.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

In an invertible collar construction including a jacket element and a shawl collar element, said jacket'element having first and second interconnectable front panel members and a rear panel interconnected at side edges thereof with said first and second front panel members, the improvement comprising: each of said front panel members having a finished free edge, the upper portions of which extend upwardly to form with a portion of said back panel member a continuous neck opening, said collar element having an outer edge and an inner edge, said inner and outer edges each converging to a point at each end thereof, said inner edge having a radius of curvature less than that of said neck opening when said inner edge and said neck opening are disposed in planar condition, means interconnecting said collar element within said neck opening along a line on the inner surface of said jacket spaced below said finished edge, in such manner that the center of curvature of said inner edge of said collar lies within said rear panel member when said collar is in planar condition, whereby said collar element may be selectively folded inwardly of said finished edge to lie smoothly upon the inner surface of said jacket, and outwardly folded to lie upon an outer surface of said front and rear panel members when said jacket is worn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 393,548 Falkenberg et al. Nov. 27, 1888 1,326,704 Wittman Dec. 30, 1919 1,523,908 Shatter Ian. 20, 1925 1,716,042 Goldberg June 4, 1929 2,725,568 Honigsberg Dec. 6, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 746,605 France Mar. 14, 1933 

